Exploring Psychology Chapter 1 and Appendix A Test

Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the weakest degree of relationship between two variables? a. -0.12 b. -0.99 c. +0.25 d. -0.50

a. -0.12

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as a. behaviorism b. cognitive neuroscience c. humanistic psychology d. positive psychology

a. behaviorism

Dr. Caleigh conducts research on the relationship between adults' language skills and their capacity to solve mathematical problems. Dr. Caleigh is most likely a _________ psychologist. a. cognitive b. biological c. clinical d. social

a. cognitive

Questioning whether conclusions are warranted by the existing evidence best illustrates a. critical thinking b. functionalism c. the biopsychosocial approach d. introspection

a. critical thinking

After an experiment, research participants are told its purpose and about any deception they may have experienced. This is called a. debriefing b. replication c. informed consent d. the double-blind procedure

a. debriefing

The study of psychology is potentially dangerous because a. psychological knowledge can be used for destructive purposes b. psychologists generally believe that people are not personally responsible for their actions c. psychological research usually necessitates performing stressful experiments on people d. psychological research typically violates personal privacy rights

a. psychological knowledge can be used for destructive purposes

To assess the impact of test difficulty on persistence of effort, researchers plan to give one group of children relatively easy tests and another group more difficult tests. To reduce the chance that the children in one group are more intelligent than those in the other group, the researchers should make use of a. random assignment b. the double-blind procedure. c. naturalistic observation. d. operational definitions.

a. random assignment

In a survey, psychologists select a random sample of research participants in order to ensure that a. the participants are representative of the population they are interested in studying. b. there will be a large number of participants in the research study. c. the study will not be influenced by the researcher's personal values. d. the same number of participants will be assigned to each of the experimental conditions.

a. the participants are representative of the population they are interested in studying.

Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion? a. the survey b. naturalistic observation c. the case study d. experimentation

a. the survey

Being randomly assigned to the experimental group in a research project involves being assigned a. to that group by chance b. to the group in which participants are representative of people in general c. in a way that ensures that the independent variable will affect the dependent variable d. to the group in which participants all have similar personalities

a. to that group by chance

Approximately 95 percent of the cases represented by the normal curve fall within ____________ standard deviation(s) from the mean. a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 5

b. 2

Suppose that people who watch a lot of violence on TV are also particularly likely to behave aggressively. This relationship would NOT necessarily indicate that watching violence influences aggressive behavior because a. we most readily notice associations that confirm our beliefs. b. association does not prove causation c. sampling extreme cases leads to false generalizations d. the sample may have been randomly selected

b. association does not prove causation

Which perspective studies the relative contributions of our genes and our environment on our individual differences? a. cognitive b. behavior genetics c. social-cultural d. psychodynamic

b. behavior genetics

The young science of psychology developed from the more established fields of philosophy and a. economics b. biology c. geography d. sociology

b. biology

Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to isolate a. facts from theories b. causes from effects c. case studies from surveys d. random samples from representative samples

b. causes from effects

Dr. Vasquez helps people make career choices by assisting them in identifying their strengths and interests. Dr. Vasquez is most likely a a. biological psychologist b. counseling psychologist c. cognitive psychologist d. social psychologist

b. counseling psychologist

The first major issue that emerges in debates over experimenting on animals centers on the a. usefulness of studying biological processes in animals b. ethics of placing the well-being of humans above that of animals c. obligation to treat information about individual animals with confidentiality d. need to obtain the informed consent of animals used in research

b. ethics of placing the well-being of humans above that of animals

Research participants drank either caffeinated or decaffeinated beverages in a study of the effects of caffeine on anxiety levels. Those who received the caffeinated drinks were assigned to the ________ group. a. survey b. experimental c. correlational d. control

b. experimental

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow promoted a historically significant approach known as a. behaviorism b. humanistic psychology c. cognitive neuroscience d. behavior genetics

b. humanistic psychology

In a psychological experiment, the experimental factor that is manipulated by the investigator is called the ___________ variable. a. dependent b. independent c. control d. experimental

b. independent

Natural selection refers to the principle that variations in _____________ that contribute to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. a. learned habits b. inherited trait c. levels of analysis d. cultural practices

b. inherited traits

The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it a. is based on naturalistic observation b. may be unrepresentative of what is generally true c. overestimates the importance of operational definitions d. leads us to underestimate the causal relationships between events

b. may be unrepresentative of what is generally true

Professor Ober carefully observes and records the behaviors of children in their classrooms in order to track the development of their social and intellectual skills. Professor Ober is most clearly engaged in a. survey research b naturalistic observation c. experimentation d. replication

b. naturalistic observation

The symmetrical bell-shaped figure used to represent the distribution of many physical and psychological characteristics is called a a. bar graph b. normal curve c. correlation d. scatterplot

b. normal curve

John B. Watson is to Edward Titchener as ______________ is to ____________. a. biology; environment b. observable behavior; inner sensations c. mental illness; psychiatry d. cognitive perspective; psychodynamic perspective

b. observable behavior; inner sensations

Dr. Wilson attributes the delinquent behaviors of many teens to the pressures associated with being a member of a street gang. Her account best illustrates a(n) ________ perspective. a. behavior genetics b. social-cultural c. neuroscience d. evolutionary

b. social-cultural

To understand the unusual behavior of an adult client, a clinical psychologist carefully investigates the client's current life situation and his physical, social-cultural, and educational history. Which research method has the psychologist used? a. the survey b. the case study c. experimentation d. naturalistic observation

b. the case study

People often fail to make accurate generalizations because they are unduly influenced by ________ cases. a. randomly selected b. vivid c. representative d. operationally defined

b. vivid

Early behaviorists such as John B. Watson would have considered the introspective study of self-esteem to be a. applied research b. a positive psychology c. an unscientific method d. a biopsychosocial approach

c. an unscientific method

Psychologists' personal values and goals a. are carefully tested by means of observation and experimentation. b. lead them to avoid experiments involving human participants. c. can bias their observations and interpretations. d. have very little influence on the process of scientific observation.

c. can bias their observations and interpretations.

Dr. Santaniello conducts research on how children's moral thinking changes as they grow older. It is most likely that Dr. Santaniello is a(n) ________ psychologist. a. social b. clinical c. developmental d. industrial-organizational

c. developmental

The testing effect refers to the ________ that accompanies repeated retrieval of learned information. a. hindsight bias b. naturalistic observation c. enhanced memory d. increasing boredom

c. enhanced memory

Giving half the members of a group some purported psychological finding and the other half an opposite finding is an easy way to demonstrate the impact of a. the placebo effect b. confounding variables c. hindsight bias d. the double-blind procedure

c. hindsight bias

Our tendency to believe we know more than we do best illustrates a. naturalistic observation b. the placebo effect c. overconfidence d. random assignment

c. overconfidence

In a study of the effects of drinking alcohol, some participants drank a nonalcoholic beverage that actually smelled and tasted like alcohol. This nonalcoholic drink was a a. dependent variable b. replication c. placebo d. double blind

c. placebo

Mrs. Alfieri believes that her husband's angry outbursts against her result from his unconscious hatred of his own mother. Mrs. Alfieri is looking at her husband's behavior from a(n) ________ perspective. a. evolutionary b. behavioral c. psychodynamic d. behavior genetics

c. psychodynamic

Which of the following is most useful for helping survey researchers avoid false generalizations? a. the case study b. naturalistic observation c. random sampling d. operational definitions

c. random sampling

SQ3R is a study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, _____________, and review. a. revise b. reason c. retrieve d. research

c. retrieve

Which perspective would focus on the extent to which different parenting styles are encouraged among various ethnic groups? a. evolutionary b. psychodynamic c. social-cultural d. neuroscience

c. social-cultural

Evelyn wants to know how consistent her bowling scores have been during the past season. Which of the following measures would tell her what she wants to know? a. mean b. median c. standard deviation d. correlation coefficent

c. standard deviation

Testing hypotheses and refining theories in light of those tests is central to a. debriefing b. the testing effect c. the scientific method d. informed consent

c. the scientific method

Mr. and Mrs. Klostreich have six children ages 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 16. The mean age of the Klostreich children is a. 5 b. 6 c. 7 d. 8

d. 8

Who was a student of William James and the first female president of the American Psychological Association? a. Jean Piaget b. Margaret Floy Watson c. Rosalie Rayner d. Mary Whiton Calkins

d. Mary Whiton Calkins

Which of the following is true for those assigned to a control group? a. The experimenter exerts the greatest influence on participants' behavior. b. The research participants are exposed to all the different experimental treatments. c. The research participants are exposed to the most favorable levels of experimental treatment. d. The experimental treatment is absent.

d. The experimental treatment is absent.

Janna has low self-esteem because she is often teased for being overweight. Appreciating the complexity of Janna's difficulties requires a. introspection b. psychoanalysis c. positive psychology d. a biopsychosocial approach

d. a biopsychosocial approach

In a test of the effects of sleep deprivation on problem-solving skills, research participants are allowed to sleep either 4 or 8 hours on each of three consecutive nights. This research is an example of a. naturalistic observation b. survey research c. a case study d. an experiment

d. an experiment

To assess the effectiveness of flu vaccine for county residents, Mr. Carlson wants to administer vaccine injections to all county residents rather than give half of them a placebo injection. Mr. Carlson is most clearly underestimating the importance of a. testing a large sample b. operationally defining his procedures c. replicating observations of other researchers d. creating a control group

d. creating a control group

Exploring how we humans are alike because of our common biology and evolutionary history is the focus of a. cognitive neuroscience b. community psychology c. behavior genetics d. evolutionary psychology

d. evolutionary psychology

The risk of being color deficient is greater for men than for women. This best illustrates an important a. conditioned response b. psychodynamic perspective c. empirical approach d. gender difference

d. gender difference

Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their biology or their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding a. structuralism and functionalism b. conscious and unconscious thought c. observation and introspection d. nature and nurture

d. nature and nurture

Dr. Roberts studies how best to assess individual differences in traits such as impulsiveness and sociability. Which specialty area does her research best represent? a. social psychology b. biological psychology c. industrial-organizational psychology d. personality psychology

d. personality psychology

The specialist most likely to have a medical degree is a a. clinical psychologist b. personality psychologist c. developmental psychologist d. psychiatrist

d. psychiatrist

Which perspective in psychology is most likely to focus on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures? a. evolutionary b. neuroscience c. cognitive d. social-cultural

d. social-cultural

Suppose you want to find out which candidate college students will vote for in an upcoming national election. To be sure the sample of college students you survey is representative of the college student population, you should a. survey only a small sample of college students. b. survey only politically informed college students c. survey every college student on your own campus d. survey a large representative sample of the college student population.

d. survey a large representative sample of the college student population.

Median is to range as central tendency is to ______________. a. skewed distribution b. mode c. correlation d. variation

d. variation